On 30 October 2011 23:09, Richard Morton <richard.e.morton at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> > that work on all distros, and don't inflame the (seemingly very
>> > vocal) purists who won't allow non-GPL code to taint the kernel.
>> ..
>>>> Regarding that point, "purists" have nothing to do with it.
>>>> It's a simple legal requirement -- the kernel is licensed under GPL,
>> and any distributed extension/modification to it must therefore also be
>> GPL.
>> Drivers are part of the kernel.
>>>> I dont buy that argument, drivers shouldnt be in the kernel, they should
> link to the kernel, nvidia doesnt release their source.
Even linking to the kernel could mean you fall foul of the GPL. There
have been distributions unwilling to distribute the nVidia drivers
because of this legal grey area!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kororaa#Kororaa_XGL_Live_CD_and_the_GPL
Unfortunately the internet seems to have eaten more details.
Basically it hinges on what constitutes a 'derivative work', and this
ain't clear. :|
Ian
[snip]